Tech Giants Are Meeting to Discuss a Legal Challenge to Trump's Immigration Ban

Many of the world's biggest technology companies -- Apple, Google, Netflix, among several others -- have already come out strongly against President Donald Trump's executive order restricting immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. Now, some of the same powerful tech giants are reportedly poised to join the battle against the discriminatory ban in court.

Representatives from at least a handful of the companies plan to meet on Tuesday to discuss submitting an amicus brief supporting a legal challenge against the controversial order, according to a report by Reuters that cites sources with knowledge of the plans. An amicus brief, or friend of the court brief, is when a party other than those directly named in a lawsuit submits arguments in the case.

GitHub, a San Francisco-based software company, organized the Tuesday meeting and although it's unclear which companies agreed to attend, Google, Airbnb, Dropbox, Yelp, Netflix, and many others were invited. However, because there are already multiple legal challenges against the immigration ban, it's currently unclear which case the tech companies will decide to support with their arguments. Amazon and Expedia have already filed actions in support of a lawsuit against the ban filed by Washington state attorney general, according to the report.

As you can imagine, the technology industry has widely condemned the immigration order not only because it's seen as discriminatory and unconstitutional, but also because it could negatively impact many companies' business around the world and their ability to attract talent. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration maintains the executive order is meant to bolster national security, which critics and even diplomats in the State Department say is not the case.

Bottom line: you don't need "sources" to tell you the issue, public outrage, and legal challenges over the ban aren't going anywhere anytime soon. So, uh, get your markers and poster boards out, if you haven't already. And, of course, get involved.